A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit after suffering injuries because of an allegedly defective IVC filter device. According to reports, the woman received a Bard Denali IVC filter implant in January of 2015. She then began to suffer from severe injuries that are associated with IVC device failure. In her lawsuit, she accuses C.R. Bard, the company that manufactures the IVC filter, of negligently selling the device and failing to warn her about known risks.

Research Reveals Bard IVC Filters Fail

C.R. Bard is a leading IVC filter device manufacturer. Studies have revealed that Bard IVC filters, including the Denali, fail at alarming rates. Bard IVC filters prone to fracturing, migrating, and tilting in the after implantation. The risk of failure increases the longer the device remains in a patient. Retrievable IVC filters should be removed between 29 and 54 days after implantation. However, many filters remain in patients for much longer.

Device failure can be fatal if fragments of the device travel to the heart or lungs.

Bard, Other IVC Filter Companies Have Duty to Warn of Risks

When a company puts a product on the market in Florida, it has an obligation to make sure that it’s safe. The product must be designed and manufactured without defects. A company can be liable if defects in a product cause harm. Under Florida’s product liability laws, companies also have a duty to warn consumers about risks that are associated with the use of a product.

Bard has sold IVC filter devices in the state of Florida for years. However, doctors and patients haven’t been kept in the loop when it comes to the risks that receiving an IVC filter implant can carry. The company’s decision to keep that information to itself could cost them millions of dollars. In fact, Bard has already settled hundreds of IVC filter lawsuits privately.

C.R. Bard Named in Thousands of IVC Filter Lawsuits

The controversy surrounding IVC filters isn’t new. Now C.R. Bard and other IVC device manufacturers are being sued for putting these dangerous devices on the market. Thousands of plaintiffs claim that manufacturers like Bard failed to warn consumers about the risks associated with their IVC filters.

Florida Woman’s Lawsuit Consolidated With Others

The Florida woman isn’t the only one to suffer complications after receiving a Bard IVC filter. Since her case is so similar to others, it’s been consolidated into what is known as a multidistrict litigation (MDL). An MDL is a group of cases that are based on similar facts and arguments. The cases, which often come from all over the country, are to litigated in a single federal court.

An MDL helps to make the process of trying so many similar cases much more efficient. Results from cases tried early on in the MDL process often impact how others will be resolved. Companies like Bard may be eager to settle if they repeatedly lose in court.

The Florida woman’s Bard IVC filter lawsuit joins an MDL in the US District Court for the District of Arizona. The MDL currently contains more than 4,500 Bard lawsuits.